USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > History of Fort Wayne, from the earliest known accounts of this point, to the present period. Embracing an extended view of the aboriginal tribes of the Northwest, including, more especially, the Miamies with a sketch of the life of General Anthony Wyane; including also a lengthy biography of pioneer settlers of Fort Wayne. Also an account of the manufacturing, mercantile, and railroad interests of Fort Wayne and vicinity > Part 36
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When Major Whistler assumed command of the garrison, in May, 1814, aside from the little band of soldiers here, were the two daughters of the commandant, Mrs. Laura Suttenfield,* George and John E. Hunt; Lieutenant Curtiss, and William Suttenfield, husband of Mrs. L. Suttenfield. Soon after the war broke out, with many other members of the tribe, including his family, Chief Richardville, made his way to the British lines for protection, and with a view, doubtless, to render some aid to the enemy ; for, as the reader already knows, but few among the tribes of the northwest remained neutral, or failed to give aid in some way to the British canse. At the close of the troubles in 1814, he again returned to this point, and soon passed on up the St. Mary's, about three miles from Fort Wayne, where he encamped.+ Major Whistler, desiring to see him, at once sent an interpreter to him by the name of Crozier, requesting him to come immediately to the fort, with which he readily complied. The treaty of Greenville, already re- ferred to, was now abont. to take place, and the Major desired that the chief should be present, and so requested him ; but Rich- ardville was very indifferent abont the matter, hesitated, and soon returned to his camp again. A few days subsequently, however, he came back to the fort, where he was now held as a hostage for some ten days, when he at length consented to attend the treaty, and was soon after accompanied thither by Chief Chondonnai, of · date from 1810 to as early as 1738 ; at which latter period Kaskaskia was the empori um of the trade of the West .- C. B. Lasselle, from Fort Wayne Democrat, Feb. 20th 1867.
*See sketch of her in back part of this volume.
tIt was not far from this point where the government, a few years later, built him a very neat brick house, in which he resided for several years afterwards.
287
REBUILDING OF THE FORT.
one of the lower tribes, (who had been a party to the Chicago mas- sacre,) Robert E. Forsyth, and Wm. Suttenfield.
Much of the season of 1815, was spent in rebuilding the fort ; and when completed, as with the first erected in 1794, was a most substantial affair. The timber with which it had been built, was obtained principally from what is now the east end, about where stands the dwelling of H. B. Taylor, James Embry, and the late Samuel Hanna-the pickets consisting of timber, some twelve and a half feet in length, " in sets of six, with cross pieces, two feet from the top, let in and spiked, and a trench dug, two and a half feet deep, into which they were raised."* As the old pickets were removed, the new ones took their place.
At this early period, the roads leading from the fort were mere traces ; one leading to Fort Recovery, and known as the " Wayne trace," passing through what is now Allen County, thence into Adams, to the north of Monmouth ; from thence passing not far from Willshire to " Shane's Crossing," and so on. There was also a trace to Captain Well's place, on the banks of Spy Run ; two traces led down the Maumee on either side ; and one extended in the direction of Fort Dearborn, (Chicago ;) between which point and Fort Wayne, no house was then visible, nor indeed, in any other direction, with, perhaps, one or two exceptions, short of the settle- ments in Ohio. The two common fording places at that time and for some years later, were above and below the Maumee bridge-the one below the bridge was better known as " Harmer's Ford," both of which are now most entirely obliterated.
It was below this latter ford, near a path leading towards Detroit, under the cheerful shade of what was then and long after known as the " Big Elm," on the 4th of July, 1810, that Captain Ray and a few others from the fort, were enjoying themselves most agreeably, partaking of a dinner, in honor of the glorious occasion, when an express came up the trace from Detroit, with the private mail and. Government despatches. Here Captain Ray took possession of the " mail matter," all gathering around to receive their favors, which were then duly distributed by first Postmaster Ray ; and the old Elm was thereafter known as "the Post Office." What has become of this "old familiar tree "-whose o'erhanging bows formed the shadow of the first post office in the region of Fort Wayne, is now unknown. Perhaps some unsparing axeman long since cut it down.
It was by way of Fort Wayne at this period and some years after that the troops at Chicago and Green Bay received their regular mail by military express.
Major Whistler, in 1817, being removed from this point to what is now St. Charles, Mo., was succeeded by Major J. H. Vose, of the 5th regiment of regulars, who held command until permanent- ly evacuated, in April, 1819. The departure of the troops is
* " Fort Wayne Times," 1853.
288
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
said to have " left the little band of citizens" then here " extreme- ly lonesome and unprotected. The cessation of the therefore daily music of the troops in the fort was supplied by the stillness of nature, almost overwhelming. The Indians were numerous, and their camp fires and rude music, the drum, made night more dread- ed ; but to this the inhabitants of Fort Wayne soon became famili- arized." "The. punctilio of military life was gradually infused into the social circle, and gave tone to the etiquette and moral habits of the citizens of " the fort .*
It was in this year, about the 24th of November, (1819,) that Captain James Riley, the surveyor, paid a visit to Fort Wayne. The following are some of his impressions as then dotted down.
" At every step, in this country," said he of General Wayne and the fort, "every unprejudiced mind will more and more admire the movements and achievements of the army, conducted by this veteran and truly wise and great commander, (General Wayne.) By occupying Fort Wayne, the communication between Lake Erie and the Ohio, through the channels of the Maumee and the Wabash (which is the shortest and most direct water route from Buffalo to the Missisippi river,) was cut off, or completely commanded." He also suggested the importance of a canal, by way of the portage, from St. Mary's to Little river, and said such "might very easily be cut six miles long, uniting the Wabash to the St. Mary's, a little above its junction ; and from what I saw and learned from others," said he, " it is my opinion that the swamp might afford water suffi- cient for purposes of Canal navigation.
"The country around Fort Wayne," he continued, " is very fertile. The situation is commanding and healthy, and here will arise a town of great importance, which must become a depot of immense trade. The fort is now only a small stockade ; no troops are sta- tioned liere, and less than thirty dwelling houses, occupied by "French and American families, from the settlement. But soon as the land shall be surveyed and offered for sale, inhabitants will pour in from all quarters, to this future thoroughfare, between the East and the Mississippi river."
A year later, November, 1820, Captain Riley, writing to Hon. Edward Tiffin, surveyor-general, said he " was induced to visit this place for curiosity, to see the Indians receive their annuities, and to view the country." It was at this period that he levelled the portage ground, from the St. Mary's to Little river, and presented also some very practical suggestions, which, in after years, came to be highly serviceable. Every freshet at that time, brought many boats down the St. Mary's, which had, for some years, been quite common. This, (Fort Wayne,) said he, is " a central point, combining more natural advantages to build up and support a town of importance, as a place of deposit and trade, and a thoroughfare, than any point he had seen in the western country."
At this period, he remarked, there were about one thousand * " Fort Wayne Times," 1858. .
289
ACCOUNT OF CAPTAIN RILEY-TRADE WITH THE INDIANS.
whites here from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and New York, trading with the Indians during the payment season, who had brought a great abundance of whisky with them, and which they dealt out to the Indians so freely as to keep them continually drunk, and un- fit for business; horse-racing, drinking, gambling, debauchery, extravagance, and waste were the order of the day and night; and that the Indians were the least savage, and more christianized ; that the examples of those whites were too indelicate. to mention ; all of which he thought could be remedied by a speedy survey of the lands, and then to dispose of them as soon as possible, from the mouth of the Maumee to Fort Wayne ; and from thence down the Wabash, which would superinduce a rapid settlement, and give spur and energy to agriculture, commerce, and manufactures; and further suggested that the place should be laid out in lots, and sold, the money to be applied by the President, givinga place and lands on which to erect buildings of a public character for "this future Emporium of Indiana." And he finally purchased, this year, at the Piqua Land Office, a number of tracts of land at the Rapids of the St. Mary's, (Willshire,) where he soon moved his family, laid off a town, and, two years later, (1822,) built a grist mill, and surveyed all the country, on both sides of the St. Mary's, embracing Fort Wayne, and also about twenty townships, of six miles square, between the St. Mary's and the Maumee.
Such were the prophetic words-such the spirit and energy of that stirling pioneer, Captain James Riley. And he will certain- ly long live in the memory of the people of Fort Wayne.
The trade with the Indians now constituted, for some years after the organization of the county, in 1824, the main life and business activity of the place, the principal features of which have been most fully presented in the foregoing, by Captain Riley.
As illustrative of what Captain Riley has said of the adventur- ous sptrit of the time, on one occasion, at a later period, in the history of this old carrying-place, an Indian had come to Fort Wayne, upon a very fair pony, and alighted in front of a little grocery and liquor store, which then stood on the west side of what is now Calhoun street, a little north of the north-west cor- ner of Main and Calhoun streets. The Indian wanted money, and offered to sell his pony for a moderate sum, to a white man stand- ing near the point at which he stopped. The man looked at the pony somewhat scrutinizingly, and said to the Indian that he would " like to ride him up the street a piece, and if he liked him, would buy the pony." The Indian assented, and the man sprang upon the animal and rode towards Wayne street. At that time, and for some years subsequent, the old jail, a rather substantial, though rough-looking log building, stood on the south-west corner of the the present enclosure of the court-house. Coming to this old edi- fice, the man turned the corner, eastward, p issed the jail, and put- ting whip to the pony, was soon beyond the limits of the town| The
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290
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE. D
pony was gone. None could tell him of the rider; and the Indian never saw him more.
In 1815, a few houses began to appear some distance from the fort, but usually in range of the bastions, so that, in case of attack, they might easily be destroyed, or the enemy driven away. One of these was built about the centre of what is now Barr street, near the corner of Columbia, which, some years afterwards, being re- moved from its former locality, formed a part of the old Washing- ton Hall building, on the southwest corner of Columbia and Barr streets, destroyed by fire in 1858.
Among those who came to this point in 1815, were a Mr. Bourie, grandfather of L. T. Bourie ; Dr. Turner, Dr. Samuel Smith, from Lancaster, Ohio, and John P. Hedges returned here from Cinein- nati, whither, and to Bowling Green, Ky., he had gone after the battle of the Thames. The following year Dr. Trevitt came.
- John H. Piatt, of Cincinnati, beginning with 1812, furnished supplies to the army here, with whom, in 1814, became associated Andrew Wallace. This contract was subsequently disposed of to Rob't Hugh Glenn and Jacob Fowles, who, in turn, disposed of it (in 1817,) to Major Wm. P. Rathbone, of New York City.
In 1816, Indiana having been admitted as a State, in compliance with an act of Congress, a Convention was held at Corydon, with a view to the formation of a State Constitution, in which body this part of the State, then a portion of Knox county, was represented by John Badolet, John Benefiel, John Johnson, Wm. Polk, and Benjamin Parke, all now deceased.
The seat of government of Knox county was at Vincennes, which had for several years been the seat of government for the Indiana Territory ; and all judicial matters relating to the vicinity of Fort Wayne, were settled at Vincennes up to 1818, when this portion of the State, extending to Lake Michigan, was embraced in Randolph County, of which Winchester was the county seat, up to the formation of Allen County, in 1823.
During 1815, after the declaration of peace, the Indians began to gather here in large numbers, to receive their rations, &c., as per treaty stipulations, at Greenville.
Being admitted into the fort, on such occasions, in parties of six or eight, the Indians would present a little bundle of short sticks, to represent the number of rations they wished to draw. The coun - eil-house which had been destroyed by the siege of 1812, was rebuilt in 1816, upon the site of the old one, which was again oc- cupied by the former Indian agent here, Major B. F. Stickney. The same well that was used at the time of its occupancy at this early period, is still used by Mr. Hedekin, whose residence .now occupies the site of this old edifice.
The year following the rebuilding of the old council-house, (1817,) Major Stickney addressed the following letter to Thomas L. M'Kin-
291
LETTER OF MAJOR B. F. STICKNEY.
ney, then superintendent of Indian Affairs. This letter bears date " Fort Wayne, August 27th, 1817," and at once presents to the mind of the reader the true condition of the Indians here at that period. Said Mr. Stickney :
" I shall pay every attention to the subject of your letter, developing the exalted views of philanthropy of the Kentucky Baptist Society for propagating the gospel among the heathen. The civilization of the Indians is not a newsubject to me. I have been, between five and six years, in the habit of daily and hourly intercourse with the Indians northwest of the Ohio, and the great question of the practieability of civilizing them ever before me. That I might have an opportunity of casting in my mite to the bettering of the condition of these uncultivated human beings, and the pleasure of observing the change that might be produced on them, werc the prin- cipal inducements to my surrendering the comforts of civilized society.
" Upon my entering on my duties, I soon' found that my speculative opinions were not reducible to practice. What I had viewed, at a distance, as flying clouds, proved, upon my nearer approach, to be impassable mountains. Notwithstanding these discouraging circumstances, I am ready to aid your views by all proper means within my power; and, in so doing, believe I embrace the views of the government of which I am agent. * * It will be proper for me to be more particular, * and give you something of my ideas of the nature and extent of the obstacle to be met.
"First .- The great, and, I fear, insurmountable obstacle is, THE INSATIABLE THIRST FOR INTOXICATING LIQUORS that appears to be born with all the yellow-skin in- habitants of America; and the thirst for gain of [some of] the citizens of the Uni- ted States appears to be capable of eluding all the vigilance of the government to stop the distribution of liquor among them. When the Indians can not obtain the means of intoxication within their own limits, they will travel any distance to ob- tain it. There is no fatigue, risk, or expense, that is too great to obtain it. In som.e cases, it appears to be valued higher than life itself. If a change of habit in this can be effected, all other obstacles may yield. But if the whites can not be re- strained from furnishing them spiritucus liquors, nor they from the use of them, I fear all other efforts to extend to them the benefits of civilization will prove fruitless. The knowledge of letters serves as the medium of entering into secret arrangements with the whites, to supply the means of their own destruction, and, within the lim- its of my intercourse, the principal use of the knowledge of letters or civilized lan- guage has been for them to obtain liquor for themselves and others.
" Secondly .- The general aversion to the habits, manners. customs, and dress of civilized people ; and, in many cases, an Indian is an object of jealousy for being acquainted with a civilized language, and it is made use of as a subject of re- proach against him.
" Thirdly .- General indolence, connected with a firm conviction that the life of a civilized man is that of slavery, andthat savage life is manhood, ease and indepen- dence.
" Fourthly. - The unfavorable light in which they view the character of the citi- żensof the United States-believing that their minds are so oconpie ! in trade and speculation, that they never act from any other motives. * * Their opinion * of the government of the United States is, in some degree, more favorable ; but secretly, they view all white people as their enemies, and are extremely suspicious of every thing coming from them.
" All the Miamies, and Eel river Miamies, are under my charge, about one thou- sand four hundred in number ; and there are something more than two thousand Pottawattamies who come within my agency. The proportion of children can not be ascertained, but it must be less than among the white inhabitants of the United States. They have had no schools or missionaries among them since the time of the French Jesuits. They have places that are commonly called villages, but, perhaps not correctly, as they have no uniform place of residence. During the fall, winter, and p irt of the spring, they are scattered in the woods, hunting. The respective bands assemble in the spring at their several ordinary places of resort, where some hive rude cabins, made of small logs, covered with bark : but more commonly, some po:28 stuck in the ground and tied together with pliant slips of bark, and covered with farge sheets of bark, or a kind of mats, made of flags.
292
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
" Near these places of resort they plant some corn. There are eleven of these places of resort within my agency. The Miamies and Eel river Miamies reside, principaly, on the Wabash, Mississinewa and Eel river, and at the head of White river. The Pottawattamies [reside] on the Tippecanoe, Kankakee, Iroquois, Yellow river, St. Joseph of Lake Michigan. the Elkhart, Miami of the lake, the St. Joseph emp. tying into it, and the St. Mary's river. They all believe in a God, as creator and governor, but have no idea of his will being communicated to man, except as it apjeurs in the creation, or as it appears, occasionally, from his providential gov- ernment. Some of them had been told of other communications having been made to the white people a long time since, and that it was written and printed ; but they neither have conception nor belief in relation to it. Their belief in a future existence is a kind of transubstantiation-a removal from this existence to one more happy, with similiar appetites and enjoyments. They talk of a bad spirit, but never express any apprehensions of his troubling them in their future existence."
Among those engaged in the Indian trade at this point and. at what is now South Bend, in 1821, were Francis Comparet, with the Pottawattamies, at the latter place, and Alexis Coquilla'rd, with the Miamies, at the former. Wm. G. and Geo. W. Ewing arrived here in 1822, and began to trade with the Indians.
En route for the Mississippi, General Lewis Cass and the histori- an, H. R. Schoolcraft, made a short stop at this point in June 1822, reaching here in a canoe by way of the Maumee, from Detroit, whence this little vessel was hauled across the portage to Little river, from whence they proceeded on their journey to the Father of Waters.
The following year, (1823,) the State being divided into two Congressionel Districts, John Test, of Dearborn county, was selec- ted representative from the district, then embracing Allen, &c., at which period there were but about fifty votes polled in the whole north part of the State of Indiana.
ONSTITUTIO
CHAPTER XXVI.
Scenes varied-new life- New acts in the drama ; Still in the " forest deep and wild."
Establishment of a land office at Fort Wayne, and sale of lands-Purchase of Barr and MeCorkle --- The original plat --- Donation of ground for burial purposes, and upon which to erect a meeting house and seminary --- Purchase of Judge Hanna --- The first school-house of Fort Wayne --- Early school-teachers --- Great abundance of fish in the Manmee --- Manufacture of oil --- What the Indians thought --- Buildings and business of 1819 --- Store of Samuel Hanna and James Barnett --- Appearance of the country in 1819 --- Scarcity of settlers --- The Quaker trace --- Settlers between Fort Wayne and Richmond, Ind .--- Recollections of John Stratten --- Early purchasers of land here --- The Wells pre-emption --- Organization of Allen County --- First Ma- sonic organization here --- First plat of Fort Wayne recorded at Winchester --- First election of county officers-First meeting of the County Board --- County offi- cers -- First Justices of the pence --- Early tavern rates --. Taxation --- Report'on taxa- ble property --- Wolf-scalp certificates -- First circuit court --- First grand jury --- First case on docket --- First application for divorce --- Tavern license --- Application for citi- zenship --- Pay of officers --- Meeting of court --- Attorney's device for seal --- Miles C. Eggleston- - Associate Judges --- Report of Grand Jury --- The county jail --- Impris- onment for debt --- Court sessions -- First will of Allen County --- Murder by an In- dian Chief, (Big Leg) --- His trial --- First restraining case --- Term of 1831 --- County officers --- Judge Hanna and John Right --- Judge Right and Pat. McCarty --- Daniel Worth --- Organization of Delaware County --- The three per cent fund --- Grant of land by Congress for canal purposes -- Action of the land office- - Cession of land to the State of Ohio -- Canal stipulations --- Canal commissioners --- Hon. Oliver H. Smith --- Trip to Fort Wayne, by Mr. Smith, Judge Eggleston, and James Rariden --- Election of John Test and Jonathan McCarty --- Election of Mr. Worth, of Ran- dolph County --- Formation of Randolph, Allen, Delaware, and other territories, adjoining into a senatorial district- - Re-election of Mr. Worth --- Election of Mr. Holman --- Allen, Randolph, St. Joseph, Elkhart. and Delaware counties formed into a senatorial district --- Election of Messrs, Worth, Hanna, Crawford, and Colerick- - County Board of commissioners --- County addition --- Taber's addition --- First Probate Court --- Letters of administration --- Court terms --- Estate of Chief La Gross --- Appointment of W. G. Ewing -- Jndge McCulloch --- Lucien B. Ferry --- Elections and appointments --- Abolition of the Probate Court and organization of the Common Pleas Court --- Election of Judge Borden --- Organization of a Crimin- Court --- Marriage records.
HROUGH an act of Congress, approved by the President of the United States, May Sth, 1822, a land office was established at Fort Wayne. By this act the district for the sale of lands at this point was also defined, and the President appointed Joseph Hol- man, of Wayne county, Register, and Captain Samuel C. Vance,
294
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
of Dearborn county, Receiver. After the survey of the lands, the President issued a proclamation for their sale, to the highest bidder, the minimum price being $1.25 per acre ; and the sale began on the 22d of October, 1823, at the fort. Considerable rivalry having been awakened, touching that portion which embraced the town and immediate settlement-some forty acres, in the immediate locality of the fort, being reserved for the use of the Indian Agent-the most extensive purchasers thereof were Barr, of Baltimore, Md., and McCorkle of Piqua, Ohio. This portion of the city is marked on the city maps " Old Plat to Fort Wayne," and originally designa- ted as "the north fraction of the south-east quarter of section two, township thirty, north of range twelve east ;" and it was on this that Messrs. Barr and McCorkle laid off the original plat of the " Town of Fort Wayne," as surveyed by Robert Young, of Piqua, Ohio. This plat was embraced in one hundred and eighteen lots .*
In this plat, Messrs. Barr and McCorkle set apart and donated, by deed, a body of ground, some four rods square, as a free place of burial, with the privilege to any denomination, that might form a first organization here, to build a Church thereon. They also set apart a lot, of similar dimensions, and adjoining the foregoing, upon which to erect an educational institute or seminary.
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